


Chances

by justbygrace



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, fluffy mcflufferson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-20
Updated: 2017-04-20
Packaged: 2018-10-21 10:14:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10683225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justbygrace/pseuds/justbygrace
Summary: Meeting on a train. AU.This story is a combination of a prompt and a post I saw about cute ways couples have met.I think this may be the fluffiest thing I have ever written.





	Chances

Doctor John Noble was heading home from work one evening in early Spring, tired after a long day in his small medical practice. He was slouched down on his seat sipping from a bottle of water and watching the endless city landscape pass by. It was the only thing he hated about his small flat, the subway trip clear across the city, but his rent was reasonable and most nights he could enjoy a book on tape or some relaxing music via his wireless earbuds.

He rolled his shoulders, accidentally catching the eye of a girl seated across the aisle. She was young, 19, maybe 20 at the most, but there was something pleasant about her face that made his gaze linger. She smiled at the eye contact and raised her eyebrows when the moment stretched on. He could feel his ears turning red and he looked away, embarrassed to be caught staring at her. He could be gregarious in the right situations, but the train home was not one of them. Turning his focus forward he kept his gaze on the badly made toupee of the man in front of him until his stop was announced.

The next evening as he boarded the train he saw her again. Her blonde hair was partially covering her face as she studied something on her phone and her bottom lip was caught between her teeth and he nearly tripped trying to sit down. She didn't look up but he couldn't help sneaking glances across the aisle every few moments. Two stops before his she suddenly looked up, her eyes catching his and a broad smile lit her face. He blushed and smiled in return before looking fixedly away. It was almost a relief when the train pulled into his station.

After that he saw her regularly. Sometimes she was playing on her phone, sometimes she was reading, sometimes she was studying their fellow travelers with great interest, but she always managed to catch his eye and smile. Occasionally she even waved, a gesture he returned. He stopped blushing so much and once or twice he even initiated eye contact. He started to associate the songs playing on his iPod with her outfits: 'Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick' was her in purple shirt and jean overalls, 'Love Don't Roam' was a purple zip-up and black stretch pants, 'Toxic' was a grey shirt and jeans, 'Mr. Blue Sky' was a black jacket and french braids which he found himself fantasizing about when he least expected it.

He thought about her a lot, she was even starting to appear in his dreams, but he couldn't think of any way to start a conversation. "Hi! I'm John and you are?" "Hullo! I'm a Doctor, what do you do?" "Hey, my name is John and I've noticed we ride the same train." None of his opening lines held up, even when he practiced them in front of his mirror. He even thought about pulling out the cheesy ones from his school days but dismissed that thought before he could thoroughly embarrass himself.

Things continued on in the same manner until mid-July when he boarded the train to find that she was not there. His shoulders slumped and he settled into his seat with a sigh. The train had barely started moving again when he felt a tap on his shoulder and he looked over to see her sitting down across the aisle and making odd hand gestures at him.

He pulled out his earbuds and smiled at her, "I'm sorry, I don't understand sign lang..."

"Oh my god!" Color flooded her cheeks as she stared at him. "You're not deaf! I'm so sorry. I thought you were deaf because you never respond when I've tried to talk to you so I learned sign language so that I...oh, I'm such an idiot." 

She sank back in her seat and he stared at her in shock for a long moment before starting to laugh. After a moment she joined in. 

When they calmed down, she spoke again. "I'm really sorry. How can I make it up to you?"

"Learning sign language to try to talk to me?" John shook his head in wonder. "You have nothing to apologize for. That was way more creative than anything I'd come up with, that's for sure."

"You'd thought of trying to talk to me?" She sounded surprised.

"Of course, you're..." he waved his hand in her general direction. "All pink and yellow."

"Listen, do you want to maybe grab chips?" she asked with a light laugh.

"Yes, I do," he started before he was interrupted by the sound of his station's announcement. 

She was already standing and he grinned at her as he joined her on his feet.

"I'm John, by the way. What's your name?" he asked as the train began to slow.

"Rose Tyler." she smiled at him with her tongue caught between her teeth.

"Nice to meet you, Rose Tyler." He held out his hand and she intertwined their fingers. "Run!"


End file.
